The Young And The Restless Weekly Blog

This week of "Y&R" was surprisingly dull at times - with some notable exceptions of course. Hopefully this was the build up for next week to be something spectacular. Abby’s return was a highlight – welcome back! Here we go:

Crash. We finally learned Nikki’s diagnosis – Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Victoria’s panic at Nikki being sick was palpable and Jack’s comfort and concern was so genuine. This will make Victor feel powerless, which could be a bit of a mess. The question is whether he’ll be able to truly support Nikki, keep the peace for her sake, and focus on traveling and doing whatever she wants to do, when he’d rather be indulging himself in scheming and business.

Don’t do it. Paul being Jamie’s champion was amazing - he seems to be the only one left who gives a damn about the kid. Summer and Fen seemed to be far more worried about themselves than the fact that Jamie tried to kill himself, in fact, Fen’s 'poor me' attitude was worse than ever this week! Instead of making Fen take responsibility for tormenting someone to the brink of suicide, Michael began apologizing for having taken a hard line. Michael should have stood his ground even after he learned Jamie lied, because Paul’s sentiments were true – Fen might as well have pushed him – and Fen hasn’t learned a thing. When Summer found Fen hitchhiking, he blamed Jamie for ruining his life. Unbelievable! It's disappointing because the cyber-bullying storyline currently seems to be sending the message to stay away from kids like Jamie altogether because they’ll just mess up your privileged lives. Hopefully this will change. This week, Kyle and Summer crossed paths – I got a 'big brother' vibe from this interaction, and still feel Kyle’s perfect for an older woman – hopefully this wasn’t foreshadowing of a pairing. As for Carmine whispering in Lauren's ear and then kissing her – hottest thing I've seen in eons; puddle on the floor! I so prefer this sort of conflict for Lauren and Michael to the doppelganger and Sheila stuff. What did you think about their close encounter? Let Soaps.com by voting in our Y&R Trouble poll.

She’s back! Abby’s return was a highlight despite the news that she appeared to have ditched Carmine while on the road, and that she told Jack she wants to tone things down a bit. Hopefully she keeps her promise to Jack not to be totally boring - I’m looking forward to her spicing things up in Genoa City!

Cane/Lily/Chelsea/Tyler. Something's not working here - perhaps it’s just too transparent what the writers are trying to do with these characters and their interactions, which gives it a scripted feel. When conflicts and/or attractions happen between couples or people who work together organically, viewers are irresistibly drawn in.

Wheeler dealer. The Wheeler intimidation stuff was a bit of a yawn this week. We don’t really believe he’s going to best Victor, so what’s the point?

Avery and her men. Avery’s being as wishy-washy as ever. She's basically caught between two men who seem a lot alike and with the shock and excitement of Dylan returning from the dead waning, the prospects for this story seem a bit more bleak than they did last week.

Adam and his women. What is supposed to be going on with Sharon and Adam? Does she want him or not? They can’t seem to resist each other - such a steamy kiss on Friday! As for Chelsea, who really hasn’t proven to be an overly popular character, becoming pregnant for the third time in a row – file this under ‘What are they thinking?’

Just get a room. Sorry, even characters like Billy, Nikki, and Summer saying that Phyllis and Jack should be together, isn’t going to sell it. Jack makes Phyllis boring rather than dynamic, and it’s got a very tired recycled feeling to it. This pairing needs to stay firmly in the 'friendzone'.

This booth is reserved. Nick and the man giving love advice in Avery’s booth at The Underground - what was that all about?

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